Electric-railway system



N0. 625,28I. Patented may i6, I899.

' L. E. WALKINS.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM.

UNITED STATES LOUIS E. XVALKIN S, OF SPRINGFIELD,

HALF TO GEORGE W. J EWETT,

PATENT OFFICE.

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- OF GLENVILLE, MARYLAND.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAY SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 625,281, dated May 16, 1899.

Application filed March 7,1898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS E. WALKINS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sectional-Contact Third-Rail Electric-Railway Systems, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in electric-railway systems, more especially that class of such systems known as the third-rail electric railway.

The object of the present invention is to provide in a surface or underground-conduit railway accompanying a third-rail, preferably a surface system, simplified means for bringing the feed-current into that block, section, or division of the third-rail upon which the depending trolley or shoe of the motor-car is running, it being assured that the current will have passage through only such thirdrail section or division as is being overrun by the motor-car.

Further objects of the invention are to devise the cut-in and cut-out devices, having means for retaining the establishment of the circuit during the time the motor-car is on a given block or division without the necessity of the special operating-circuits for the cut-in and cut-out mechanism as have heretofore been devised and proposed, and which devices obviate the necessity of springs, which are liable to derangement, in order to insure the returning of the operating movable parts to their places and to insure that there will be no sparking or destructive action at the cut-out devices in their operations by reason of the passage through themor through portions thereof of the feed-current at high voltage. 4 The invention consists in peculiar constructions and arrangements of parts and conductors, all substantially as will hereinafter appear, and be set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, more or less in the nature of a diagram, showing the several divisions of the third rail and two of the cut Serial No. 672,843. (No model.)

in and cut-out electromagnetic devices, also indicating the location of the shoe and showing that the current is established in and through the farthest section to the right from the line or feed Wire. Fig. 2 is a plan view of so much of the same parts as are indicated in Fig. 1 as it is practicable to show.

, In the drawings, A A represent third-rail sections or blocks for a surface or elevated electric railway, they being understood as of any suitable length-as, for instance, a quarter of a mile each-and each third-rail section is separated by the opening indicated at g which may be comparatively short-for instance, less than a f0otand blocks of insulating material 00 are placed against the ends of the third-rail sections which are adjacent each other. Beneath each of the openings y, at the divisions between the third-rail sections, is placed an axially-vertical electromagnet 0, and mounted upon a suitably-supported bracket below each opening, but above the electromagnet, is a lever or depressible swinging member B, provided with a counterbalancing-weight B This lever B. has its one member to be depressed inclined within the separating-opening y and constitutes in part a depressible device of which the armature bar or lever (represented as a whole by the letter G) also forms a part, said armaturelever comprising the armature proper, f, and the contact extension g. These devices, referred to by reference characters, are provided on suitable supports and within housings therefor at each separation between the third-rail sections, one of these being only required at each quarter mile, where the blocks are of such length.

D represents the line feed-Wire, which is understood as running throughout the length of the railway, the current being taken from the usual power station or generator in the manner Well known, and this feed-wire may be located (being Well insulated by covering) directly upon the top of the railway-ties or it may be otherwisedisposed.

At the intervals where the cut-in and cutout devices are provided or suitably adjacent thereto the branch-wire connections I) join the main feed-wire D with the winding-wire of the electromagnet, and the winding-wire of the electromagnet is, furthermore, joined by the connection-wire j with the contactpiece d. The armature by the wire it is connected with the next third-rail section A in advance of the position of the armature. Preferably the depressible lever B is also joined to the next third-rail section in advance, the bond-wire m being shown as provided for this purpose.

It will be apparent that the trolley J immediately it comes to the dividing-space between two of the third-rail sections downwardly operates the depressible device, and the armature f, closing against the core of the electromagnet and having its contact extension 9 brought against the contact-piece d, the current may now pass from the feed-wire D by way of the winding-wire of the electromagnet 0, through contact-piece cl, and through the armature-lever in connection with wire h to the third-rail section respectively next in advance of the devices which have been operated by their closing relations, all as shown at the right-hand portion of Fig. 1.

It is to be understood that the surrounding wire of the electromagnet 0, being in part the conductor for the feed current, provides means for the vitalization by the current of said magnet, whereby the armature is retained at the core thereof, and so long as the motor-car remains on the third-rail division or block next in advance of the current-closing device in question the armature f will remain held against the electromagnet and the contact between g and d closed; also, that the feed-current,which may be taken up through the trolley to the motor F, may pass through and away from the latter by way of the carwheel axle F to the side-track rail E, which may be utilized as the return, as aforementioned.

Assuming that the left-hand cut-in devices had been brought to their closed relations while the shoe after passing thereover was upon the middle third-rail section, (indicated in the drawings,) these devices would remain closed until the shoe reached the right-hand position, (shown in Fig. 1,) whereupon these latter devices would be brought to their closing positions,as shown, and whereupon the circuit being established in advance of the cutin devices which had been closed would follow the established conductors therefor to the return, as manifest, and the failure of the current to pass throughthe winding-wire of the left-hand electromagnet shown would leave it dead, and the counterpoise B would automatically insure that the movable parts would assume their cutting-out relations.

In order that the mechanical depressible device hereinbefore referred to may be constructed of extreme simplicity, I have shown that the member comprising the armature f and the contact member 9 is comprised in a metallic fiat bar riveted to or formed as a part of the counterpoised lever B. This, as

shown at f is quite thin, whereby it'is rendered springy, so that it will reach contact with the magnet-core yieldingly and with the avoidance of violent or destructive pounding.

The arrangement of the parts and their con neotions shown in the full lines in Fig. l are those required where the car and its shoe J move in the direction of the arrow; but the devices having the same relative positions shown could be utilized in a railway Where the car was to run in the reverse direction by substituting for the connecting-wires h and m the wire it for connecting the armature with the third-rail section at the left instead of at the right.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isr 1. In an electric-railway system, a series of conductor-rail divisions with separating intervals, and a main-current feed-wire, a series of electromagnets respectively provided adjacent each of the intervals, and a metallic contact adjacent thereto, conductors joining the feed-wire and said electromagnets, and said electromagnets and said adjacent metallic contact-pieces, a movable device located at the separating intervals in line therewith and comprising as a part movable in unison therewith an armature adapted to be forced against the electromagnet by the passage of the car thereover, and having a portion also adapted to bear against the said metallic contact-piece, and a conductor connecting the said contacting armature with the conductorrail division next in advance, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric-railway system, a series of conductor-rails with separating intervals as shown at y, and a main-current feed-wire, a series of electromagnets respectively provided adjacent each of the intervals, and a metallic contact adjacent thereto, conductors joining the feed-wire and the encircling wires of the electromagnets, said encircling wires being also joined to said contacts (Z, a depressible lever pivot-ally mounted in the sepa rating-spaces between the conductor-rail divisions having as a part thereof and movable therewith the spring member G comprising the armature, having normally an open position relative to the magnets and contacts and in electrical connection with the rail division in advance, and each successively adapted on the passage of the car thereover to be forced downwardly carrying portions thereof to contact on the electromagnet and the adjacent contact.

3. In an electric-railway system, a series of rail-conductor divisions in succession with separating intervals as shown at y and a linewire, a series of electromagnets corresponding to said intervals, with respective line-wire connections 1), contacts cl adjacent the electromagnets joined thereto, the depressible device pivotally mounted within each separating interval, electrically joined to the railelectromagnets respectivelyjoined to the feedwire and each having adjacent thereto the contact-piece d to which the electromagnets are respectively joined, of the depressible cut-in and cut-out devices each comprising the pivotally-mounted counterpoise-lever B and the armature member carried bodily by and movable in unison with the lever B, but having a spring capability relatively to the lever, and provided with the contact extension 9, the conductor-wire h joining the armature member G with the conductor-rail division next in advance, and the conductor-wire m joining said lever B with the rail division next in advance, substantially as described.

5. The combination with the conductor-rail divisions with separating intervals, a continuous feed-wire, electromagnets joined to the feed-wire and each having adjacent thereto, the contact-piece d to which the electromagnets are joined, of the depressible levers B pivotally mounted and counterpoised and having positions to receive their depression movements from the passing car shoe or trolley, and each having affixed thereon, a bar G having a thin portion whereby it may spring relatively to the lever on which it is carried, and a conductor-wire joining said bar with an adjacent division of the conductor-rail, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed by me, at Springfield,Massachusetts, this 1st day of February, 1898.

LOUIS E. VVALKINS. Witnesses:

WM. S. BELLoWs, M. A. CAMPBELL. 

